Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category

The labyrinth often based on a spiral is known to be a design feature likely 4,000 years old. This art form can be found in many cultures around the world such as India, France, Egypt, Scandinavia, Crete, Samaria, America, the British Isles, and Italy, and in all cases, they were built to share a common theme of pilgrimage and spiritual reward. Most are created as a spiral path leading to a central point and then back out again. For instance one of the oldest depictions of a Celtic Spiral that could have served as inspiration is found in a passage tomb Near Kells Meath, Ireland. Here we can see a series of three spirals.

Says Avia Venefica, “This is where labyrinths are often confused with mazes. Big difference. Mazes are designed to challenge intellect and strategic skills. Whereas the labyrinth is an exercise in soul development.”

The spiral, unlike that pesky maze, can be found in nature in a shell, a pine cone or even in the rose blossom are reflected in a labyrinth as a curving line around a central point. This might mean movement, growth, change or providing a continuously shifting perspective that can be inspiring and sometimes life renewing. (1) Its a nice idea that walking a labyrinth is a metaphor for life -the path shifts in unexpected ways, sometimes away from your goal, but ultimately leading you to the center. Says a Labyrinth Facilitator; Chris Beam, “it is a powerful meditation tool, helping to quiet the mind and allowing time of reflection.”

In contrast, passing through a maze – one in which the path divides repeatedly and there is a risk of becoming disoriented and lost – is a much more individual and potentially threatening exercise. It symbolizes the way in which the mind can easily become confused and sidetracked. In the maze, unlike the labyrinth, we are faced by many choices with outcomes that are uncertain (2).

So what path are we on in today’s world? I would like to think we are on a pre-planned “labyrinth” path where even though twisting and turning directions seem confusing, there is some set destination or ending point in store. However, I think more often that life in the over informed, technology imbued, speed of light 21st century is more like the maze mentioned earlier – our path constantly challenges us to evaluate progress and decide to turn left or right, back up or move ahead.

Maybe the group DEVO had it right and our philosophy should be to just to “Shape it up, Get straight, Go forward, Move ahead, Try to detect it, It’s not too late to whip it, Whip it good.”